Thursday, June 7, 2012

((on my heart)) it's not all bike rides & macarons around here

Recently, I've had several comments on posts, e-mails, and even a few conversations with people that say something to me along the lines of, "wow your life is so exciting!" or "Everything you post is so put together and pretty."

The first statement puts a befuddled expression on my face. I've never been one that's capable of hiding emotions or thoughts. The other statement makes me feel like a coward & really uncomfortable.

You see, as much as I love to keep this blog lighthearted and fun, I do have a real life job. This blog is also a lot of ((enjoyable)) work. We are part of a church plant that takes a LOT of energy & heart & prayer & time. It's exhausting, so hard, refining, but an incredibly beautiful thing to be apart of. I do struggle with insecurity, believing a continuous lie that I'm not good enough, impatience of not being a mom yet, and I don't always view myself in the best light (read: self-image issues and lack of grace with myself).

Those photos are pretty. But they've been styled, posed, re-styled, cropped, edited, photoshopped....and just like in magazines, it's not real life. It's not the everyday.

My life IS full of joy and it IS full of fun and it IS full of love and most days it IS full of inspiration, but that's not all.

I suppose I just don't want y'all to think that I'm trying to portray this perfect life that's all bike rides & macaron baking. It's not just colorful straws, delicious beverages, and mason jars around here. Although those are the inspiring things I tend to instagram, most of our evenings are spent here at home, eating a ((mostly)) average home cooked meal and watching an episode ((or 3)) of Hoarders. I wear boring outfits on my days off from work. I need a pedicure -- like...yesterday. I'm long overdue for a haircut and I eat way too many sour straws. We just sit & hang out a lot of times when we're home and aren't always running off to exotic places, fancy restaurants and getaways. Promise.

We ((try to)) make the most of our time, we are grateful for the Lord's provision, we disagree and argue like every other couple, and we take advantage of times where we can do something fun or get away for a couple of days and "recharge."

As much as I love to show you guys the pretty side ((because honestly, who wants to read about me cleaning the house and going to work and going to the gym? I want to write about that as much you want to read it.)), please know that my life isn't perfect, not even close...nor do I EVER EVER EVER want to falsely portray that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want you to see that my joy comes from the Gospel. I want to celebrate the joy of Christ saving me and the undeserved blessings God pours out. The inspiration and fun stuff is just an overflow of the Lord's blessing that I want to share. Otherwise, this whole thing would feel pretty empty & meaningless....It would be 100% selfish and fake and narcissistic.

30 comments:

you are just about my favorite person right now! I love the real life about people and it is nice to see other people are real too :) AND that you are keenly aware of Who really keeps us real and guides our lives! cheers! kami from thebluekazoo.blogspot.com

What a blessing you are! I think too many times bloggers paint a "perfect" picture because that is what they want their readers to see of them. I appreciate those who take pride in their blog and share about their life, but who also keep it real. You are full of joy and happiness because you are full of Christ! Keep on sharing his love to others. Have a great weekend!

Love this post, Dear! I think you've always done an awesome job of showing your honest self on your blog. You tell people what's real and ugly all the time. You also have an awesome talent for making beautiful things, and I think both things (real and staged) are what keeps your readers coming back for more. Love you!

I love that you poured your heart out like this for your readers. It's always nice to hear that life is not perfect for other people too and that bloggers that seem to have it all figure out have problems like everybody else. Like when you talk about being impatient about not being a mom yet. That's a feeling I know very well and one of the best things about blogging is to find other people who you can relate to. Thanks for this real post!

I adore you and your amazing heart. I love that you show the beauty that life has, but you aren't afraid to admit that it's hard. You are soaking up your precious husband and loving life. That's fabulous. You will be an INCREDIBLE mama some day and the beauty that you see in life will reflect in your children. What a legacy you are building. Hold tight to that and NEVER let go. BIG HUGS!

So good! Thanks for sharing your heart :) I think it's far too easy for us as humans to compare our lives to all the pretty pictures and exotic lives that people post about, without really realizing that it's probably not the norm for most of us! A friend of mine has a sentence on his Facebook account that says "this is my heavily edited life". And while we all do it with our blogs and the things we put out there on different social media platforms, we too often fall into the comparison game. Thanks for reminding all of us that life is meant to be lived, even in the (boring) moments, and that our job is to glorify God through our lives. Xoxo

THIS is the most beautiful post of all. I think every blogger walks a fine line of beautiful inspiration and honesty–John and I had a huge fight one weekend that I danced around in my Monday post, and I felt so guilty that my readers, my FRIENDS believed I'd had this fabulous time when in reality, I was mad and hurt and upset. But it's also hard to blog the average, the everyday, or the plain old sucky without feeling like a whiner. So we're all just doing the best we can–I hope no one's real life is all bike rides and macarons. Because she probably wouldn't be very fun to hang out with.

This post is so lovely. I think you're one of the only ones I've seen blog about this, that your life isn't perfect and you do have those normal and boring things we all do, but more importantly, that your joy comes from the gospel, from God. Thank you for sharing! It's infinitely more inspiring than just bike rides and macaroons alone. ;)

So refreshing to read this post, thank you for your vulnerability! Thank you for being honest and real with your readers, and most of all thank you for sharing the good news that true joy only come from our Father! He delights in you!

i just stumbled on your blog via the wiegands and am so happy i did! i love your depth and honesty. it's so refreshing and something i know i will look forward to reading :) i'd love it if you would hop on over to it's the little things sometime! have a lovely weekend :)

Love this post! Sometimes people forget that true Joy, in whatever circumstance, comes from the Lord and this helps the everyday, mundane things seem spectacular! I think they also forget there are a lot of behind the scenes messes going on in everyone's life, it's just a lot more fun to present the silver lining. Because optimism is way more beneficial than being down all the time, right?

Oh, Kim, that just makes me love you more! It's so darn cool to see someone actually put the thanks where it's due (though since he has given certain gifts to everybody it's only right for others to compliment and appreciate them---translating to: You're still cool, even if you're not perfect (as if anybody could be!!).

Kim, I so loved this post. I often notice how beautiful and lovely your posts/pics are, but have never, ever thought you were trying to falsely portray perfection. If anything, you've always seemed very real and open on your blog (what's on your heart, the things about yourself you wish to change, your thoughts on your business, etc). Sometimes in a crazy, busy and often ugly world, it's nice to see God's beauty manifested in the everything things. I think you do a great job of that! I enjoy your tender heart for others and your ability to seek beauty in new ways. Keep up with the good work around here and I'll be a reader for life :)

Having a blog & instagram I realize that it's easy to make life pretty & perfect. I don't get hung up on interest either because those photos are way out of reach. Tidy homes, perfect desserts & handmade outfits.... really! I look past the pretty things & photoshopped pics & know that there's a real person behind that. Because behind my pretty things & edited pics, I'm behind all of it & I'm not perfect either!

I hope most people realize that what we choose to show on a blog is exactly that - what we choose to show, and just a glimpse of our lives and realities. Most of us choose only the fun stuff to share because blogging is a little break from bills and kids and work, work, work. So what, your life does seem exciting and fun and this blog will help to serve as a way to have documented and memorialized all those great "bits" of life!

Okay just followed your link from Effortless Anthropologie, you are adorable!!! Cant believe I have never seen your blog before! Loving it and I am your newest follower! I would love to hear about your Sponsorship info too, if you can email me all the details!! Woohoo, so glad I found you!

SO beautiful. SO well said. SO blessed to my heart. I love that you wrote this and it's so encouraging. And I totally agree, who wants to see the bad stuff, and why would we want to share it anyway? Praise God for this. Thank you sister!